We live in a water world: 9 '18

Areal photo of Murrell's Inlet

This is an areal photo of a neighboring community showing 

just how much water we do have around us.

The marsh at super-tide.

And this is what it feels like to be living in the low country during a super tide.

Fun at Claw House: 6 ' 18

There's a new patio brew bar at the Claw House in Murrells Inlet

It's a fun place to watch  all the action  in the harbor

and on Goat Island

Outer Banks, Wright Brothers National Memorial: 10 '16

Wright Brothers National Memoria Park, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. The Memorial is located on the very spot where the Brothers first took flight. When the Wright Brothers chose this location, it was because they needed a location with a hill high enough to take off from, steady winds to help carry their craft aloft, and a soft landing spot. At the time they were building their craft, the field the field was a large sand lot, devoid of all vegitation, with a high sand dune at the southern edge. It was perfect for launching and safely crash landing their expeimental gliders. 

Today the site is covered in grass.  The tall memorial sits atop the sand dune from which their gliders tool  off,  a replica of the tool shheds and hangers they build to house thier experimental gliders sits in the middle of the field, and large stone markers are set into the gorund showing each successively longer flight.

We took turns taking pictures of one another standing  on the flight path with our Flat Stanley dolls of the grand kids

and of course we checked out the Visitor Center

 and all of its exhibits.

This really is a "Must See" attraction for any Outer Banks

 aviation enthusiast,  or history lover. 

Scenic Overlook of Jocasee Gorge: 9'16

Rain moved in on us in the late afternoon, making driving the winding mountain road seem a bit treacherous. We wanted to take the winding mountain road a bit slower than the logging trucks, so pulled into a scenic overlook to let the logger pass us.   Even in the rain the view of the Jocasee Gorge, SC was awesome.

77th Annual MB BikeWeek 5 ' 16

For 77 years, Myrtle Beach has hosted its annual Bike Fest during the last two weeks of May . Bikers come from all over the country to participate in this. It's really quite a sight to see. In reality it is actually two rallies: one white, one black. 

May 13 - 22nd just ended the 77th annual Harley bikers' week in Myrtle beach. This mostly white crowd was into Harley Davidson leathers, slowly cruising on painted Hogs, and the sound of 'rolling thunder.' 

Although there is often a bit of whimsy thrown into the mix.

May 23rd Sees the opening of the Black Bike week and riders showing up in force.

Over 500,000 black riders are expected to rally Myrtle Beach this Memorial Day weekend.

These fans are all about going zoom zoom on a sleek Yamaha , Suzuki, or Kawasaki.

And, of course, making sure everyone takes notice.

High Tide Date Nite 8 '14

  It's Date Night,  so we headed off to Murrell's Inlet for a good seafood meal

 of local shrimp and grits.

 

Shrimp n Grits 

 Followed by a single file stroll down the Marsh walk

Marsh walk after super high tide

 The full moon had brought up a super tide which had  the walkway  under water when we arrive. The tide had receded while we were eating  so we didn't have to swim.

Goat Island

But the poor  goats on Goat Island were looking a bit nervous.   I've never seen the island's landmass cut in half by the tide like it was this evening.  It left eight goats and several peacocks stranded on a small pocket of dry land.

Wicked Tuna

Most of the Friday night  party people moved to the higher and drier docks of the Wicked Tuna, which left the Marsh Walk open for Bruce and I to enjoy the scenery

Garden City High Rises from Murrells Inlet

And the beautiful sunset

Date Night 7"14

Bruce and I at Murrells Inlet 

Bruce and I made an agreement earlier this month to have a date night  at least once a week, so this evening we decided to have dinner and watch the sunset at Murrells Inlet.

Part of Murrells Inlet  restaurant row.

It's a good place to go for dinner because there are lots and lots of  good restaurants lined up along the marsh

Sister's restaurant and marina

All of the restaurants have good views  of the marsh from the dining room, and for those that prefer al la fresco dining there are covered dining  decks with live bands playing,  but you don't have to stay inside the confines of the restaurants to enjoy the view or have fun.

BJ on  board walk

A  long board walk fronts  the marsh so you can stroll the walk listening to live music, looking at the marsh and the marina, and of course enjoying the sunset.

Murrells Inlet Marsh Sunset

Golf and Good Eats with the neighbors 4 ' 28

Had a lovely afternoon playing golf at Tupelo Bay ( Par 3 nine hole) with all the neighbor couples, followed by a lovely dinner at a local fish house in Murrells Inlet.

On CC's easel: 4 ' 14

It's been a cold wet winter, made even more depressing by the passing of several loved ones..  As always, I  have turned to painting the beauty of nature for comfort.

At first I had to look for it... At the End of January the skies were gray, the ground wet, and the grasses and most trees still dormant, but here and there a shrub would burst into bloom reminding me that life does goes on.

  By the end of February  the grasses were greening , the  Flowering Pears were starting to bloom and spring bulbs were starting to appear.

 

 These were followed by the more colorful peach and cherry trees.

And now everywhere I look there are massive displays of  joy in being alive.

While my heart is still heavy with loss, but  the act of documenting all this youthful exuberance has been teaching me a good lesson.  Life is a process,  not a single event, and  one should appreciate each and every moment with the  people and the beauty they bring into our lives.

Pubs and Pirates at Murrells Inlet 9'13

Board Walk in Front of the Love Shack

We took a walk on the the Murrells Inlet's Marsh Walk this evening.  It's  is a great place to stroll on a warm evening.  Live Bands in the restaurants and  pubs that line the walk have people dancing on the board walk.  

Pirate Cruise

 Arts and craft shows are tucked in the corners, and the tour boats that look so cheesy by day, look so colorful and interesting at night.

Bahama Mamas Party Cruiser

Working Large: Friday 3 '13

When we walked into the studio on Friday morning, Bill had the large canvas he had stretched the day before, toned, and set up on his easel with the reference photo below it.

He immediately began  applying blue lines for the design and blocking in large blocks of color

All the while he answered questions about materials, techniques from the artists in the workshop.  I learned a lot from the demo... like how to thin the oil paint  with Liquin and stand oil, and how long to let a layer on a large painting dry before moving onto the next layer..  That my sound simple, but it can mean all the difference between having a bright vibrant painting or having mud.

Bill coaching Patty with her painting

 After the demo,  we were instructed to work on our own painting  for the remainder of the day In the meanwhile Bill went from person to person coaching them on how to solve the issues their painting presented.

30" x 40" painting when I stopped working on it on Friday pm.

In my case, Bill encouraged me to  let the paint set up a bit on  my first painting by starting a second painting. I agreed to let the first could dry overnight..  By the time the day ended I had a good beginning on a 18" x 24" painting from a different reference photo,

and had worked up a hearty appetite for the wonderful group dinner we had at the Purple Onion in Saluda  that evening.

Jane Woodward Demos at SAG Nov 4 Meeting '12

Jane Woodward

Even the General membership meetings of the Seacoast Artists Guild are well worth attending. On Nov 4th 2012, our guest speaker was the well know artist, Jane Woodward,  who gave a demonstration to the Seacoast Artists Guild on how to paint skies and clouds.

Nov 4 2012 evening cloudscape

As though to reinforce the lesson just learned,  mother nature treated us to  a magnificent  evening cloud-scape as  as the meeting ended.

It is hot hot hot! '12

Whoooo eeeee! 96 degrees at 7:30 pm with 70 % humidity and not a hint of a breeze. Bruce looked like he was going to have a stroke he as so red. .We stayed at the concert until intermission, then headed back to our Air conditioned home.